Change Management and Management Styles Research Paper

Change Management and Management Styles - Research Paper Example Managers, in these cases, adopt strategic changes in order to adapt to emergent set of management and operational issues (Stam and Andriessen, 2009, p. 136). Secondly, there is cultural change. It is the next logical step once a strategic change is adopted or when management decides to change the organizational goals and objectives. The rationale is that in order to achieve effective change in that direction, a gradual change in mentalities must be achieved as well (Hamalainen and Saarinen, 2004, p.143). This is crucial in changing the organizational behavior. A more specific change transpiring within organization would have to be the shortened organizational life cycle. Essentially, this is the life stages of an organization beginning with its birth, growth, maturity and its inevitable decline and potential revival (Nelson et al., p.258). These stages experience radical shifts today because of the advances in technology, project management and product design. For example, new comput ing solutions streamlines product development, radically shortening the operational process of the organizational subunit tasked with such responsibility. ... Change management theories provide effective frameworks in better understanding organizational change. For example Beer and Nohria (2000) posited two change management theories, which they merely labeled as Theory E and Theory 0. The first theory sees organizational change as critical in the way organizational economic value is changed. Initiatives, policies and strategies adopted to implement this model follow the so-called â€Å"hard† approach to change, emphasizing shareholder value and maintaining it as the only barometer of organizational success (p.134). On the other hand, Theory 0 approaches organizational change according to organizational capacity. Beer and Nohria calls this the â€Å"soft† approach to change in an effort to introduce organizational change through initiatives and policies that builds organizational culture on individual capability and learning. This is supposedly the strategy that Hewlett-Packard adopted amidst a flagging performance during the 1980s and involved â€Å"the process of changing, obtaining feedback, reflecting, and making further changes† (p.134). Finally, one could cite the Change Management Theory for a general framework explaining organizational change. Several authors have contributed to this theory such as Lakomski (2001) and Lewin (1951). Lakomski posited that organizations are in constant need to balance forces of change with the requirement for stability. Lewin explained that this constitutes a stalemate that is only broken once the force for change outweighs the resistance, paving the way for a change in the organizational equilibrium. The case of Lenovo is an excellent example of an organization grappling with change. In the process of addressing new change